Blasphemer - Devouring Deception (Comatose Music; 2010)

Unfortunately for Blasphemer fans (myself included), Devouring Deception is a not a new full length follow up to their excellent debut On the Inexistence of God. Rather it is an EP consisting of three original songs, one Broken Hope cover, and a remastered version of the song "Cloaca of Iniquity" off their first album. This review will primarily be about the three original songs, although the cover and the remaster are good.

Blasphemer fit in very well with an Italian scene that has emerged as one of, if not the best brutal death metal scene in Europe. Along with Blasphemer there is Putridity, Septycal Gorge, Hour of Penance, Vomit the Soul, and many others. On their first album, Blasphemer took a blasting, technical approach and On the Inexistence of God does what every good tech/brutal album should and completely shreds with a lightning fast assault. They don't forget to slow it down and slam every now and then either. Devouring Deception thankfully does not mess with success too much, and the new songs are definitely within the realm of tech/brutal. If you haven't heard Blasphemer before, I would compare them to Defeated Sanity, or their countrymen Hour of Penance.

There are some changes from On the Inexistence of God. Blasphemer have gone for a more smooth, holistic approach. To use some brootal similes, On the Inexistence of God is like quick, surgical precision strikes. It is fast, and sharp. Devouring Deception is like a mechanical monster. It is crushing and huge. Both are complex and skilled, but Devouring Deception feels bigger.

I can't really say that Devouring Deception is better than On the Inexistence of God because it is only and EP. However, if Blasphemer can write seven more songs like the ones found Devouring Deception, I would love that full length. Blasphemer remain one of the premier Italian brutal bands.

New Wormed drummer does a sample video...sounds a bit like Andy C. in the process

Enjoy!

Abominable Putridity announce rather ridiculous new (vocal) lineup

So, apparently Abominable Putridity, everyone's favorite Russian slammers, were either trolling the slam scene or were just confused and seeking direction when they announced that Cameron "Big Chocolate" Argon would be the new vocalist for the band some time last year. This disappointed more people than I can even count at this time, and the rumors kept being confirmed with various pictorial evidence posted by the band themselves on last.fm and the official forums. It seemed likely that, indeed, a *gasp* deathcore vocalist masquerading as a "slam/brutal death metal" vocalist by doing boring, one-dimensional exhales, usually unhelpfully backed by a completely equally boring, equally one-dimensional group of other instrument-players, would become the vocalist of the spearheads of Russia's hallowed slam scene. As you can tell, this would rightfully anger quite a few people.

BUT, there has been good news announced quite recently. Here's a quote posted by Sergey of AP on their official forums.

"We are going to make 2 song promos when we will have it professionally mixed and mastered in USA...So be patient... i promise that all you guys will like this album, we spend about half of year to record it and make songs powerfull and tight as hell, and this material is waaaayy different from the first one, as for vocals Matti leads on all tracks, other guys making back vocals on 4 tracks (2 songs with Corey, 1 with Aj and 1 with Angel), album will have 8 tracks total..."

Anyway, since you're probably shitting yourself in excitement right now, here's a picture for some more pictorial evidence. This time it's actually exciting, we promise.

From L to R, that's Angel Ochoa (Condemned, Cephalotripsy), Matti Way (of Pathology, Cinerary, Liturgy and Disgorge fame), AJ Magana (Defeated Sanity, ex-Disgorge, Deprecated) and Corey Athos (Flesh Consumed).

holy shitting fuck.

that is all.

Goretrade - Mistaken Conception (Brutalized Records; 2010)

If you hang around metal message boards long enough, you'll probably notice that there is a seeming divide between those who like brutal death metal and those who like old school death metal. Now, I think most of this is overblown for the sake of something to argue about, but nevertheless there are those who say everything brutal is trash, and those who say the old stuff is garbage.

I'd like to think that Goretrade is a band that can bridge the gap between the two camps. On their first two albums (2003's Ritual of Flesh and 2006's Perception of Hate), they successfully fused evil, old-school sounding riffs with crushing slams and the type of raw brutality that can only come from Colombia. If you are are already a fan of Goretrade and their unique style, then you will like Mistaken Conception. It sounds like their first two albums, while taking small steps forward so as not to sound stale.

If you haven't heard Goretrade before then this is probably a good place to start. Mistaken Conception is their most polished work and the riffs are tight and intricate. The same mix of evil, foreboding Colombian melodies and steamrolling slams remains, but there is an extra tinge of complexity that their previous two albums (and especially the very raw Ritual of Flesh) didn't have. There's even a long solo in one song, which I always like.

If you tend to like raw slam from Colombia (Suppuration or Wormeaten for instance) then you might prefer Ritual of Flesh, but I think Mistaken Conception is easily as good if not better. Goretrade have done an excellent job moving their style forward without going so far as to be unrecognizable. In a year that has featured some let downs, I know this album will be high on my top ten list.

New Human Rejection Songs

Greek slamgroove stars Human Rejection have put out some new songs. I loved their first album along with most slam fans, and I liked with their second album which seemed to get less of a good reception. There have been some fears raised that Human Rejection are turning their backs on brutal death metal and becoming a deathcore band. Yeah, they have a corey logo, but after listening to their new songs I don't think that is happening. Honestly, the new songs sound like a stompier CADM band. It's more technical and melodic sounding than their past stuff, but it also feels like a logical continuation from Decrepit to Insanity.

The verdict: I liked it overall, but I think their old stuff is stronger. However, I do not think they've gone deathcore, just a little more intricate and less slamming. How you feel about that probably depends on how  you feel about technical/Cali style death metal. I'm going to stick with this band because they're still producing high-quality material, and I don't think they should be punished for trying to change things up on each of their releases.

LISTEN @ MYSPACE

On an unrelated note: This is the 200th post on Slam-Minded! I never thought it would last this long or that anyone would read it. I can't thank my co-blogger Andy and everyone who reads this enough. Let's hope we have 200 more posts. SLAM TILL U CUM!